This invention relates generally to control methods and apparatus for appliances, and, more particularly, to a universal communications controller for interfacing and networking different appliance platforms.
Modern appliances typically include a number of relatively sophisticated electronic controls to implement advanced product features and to control components of the appliance to meet increasingly demanding energy efficiency requirements and performance objectives.
In typical appliance operation, a number of peripheral devices are interfaced with a main controller of the appliance, and connecting and communicating the peripheral devices to one another and to the main controller is challenging. For example, in a refrigerator, a main controller board may be interfaced with an icemaker, a dispenser system, distributed temperature control displays and human machine interface (HMI) boards, quick chill compartment systems, and the associated fans, motors, and active components of the refrigerator sealed system that force cold air throughout the refrigerator. Each of these peripheral devices may include a separate control board responsive to commands from the main controller. For example, a dispenser board may activate or deactivate water valves, ice delivery components and ice crushers, dispenser lights and indicators, etc. in response to user interaction and/or interactive commands from the main controller, and the fan motors may include control boards for precise control of airflow in the refrigerator, such as by pulse width modulation and the like. Point-to-point wiring of each of these devices can quickly become unmanageable and expensive.
In addition, appliance main and possibly some of the peripheral control boards often include microcontrollers or microprocessors that allow the appliance to be programmed, reprogrammed, or to execute diagnostic tests. The appliance controls are typically customized for a particular appliance, and conventionally the only means of updating the controls was to replace the appliance. Additionally, service and repair operations conventionally require a visit by qualified personnel to the location of the appliance.
Recent networking technologies provide an opportunity to modify, update, reprogram or alter control data and algorithms, to perform diagnostic tests, and to control appliances from remote locations. Thus, for example, an oven may be preheated or a dishwasher started by an online user before leaving the workplace to return home, and service personnel may diagnose and possibly rectify appliance problems through a network connection. To accomplish these and other considerations, meaningful data exchange across networked appliances is required. Given the large number of appliances employing different control boards utilizing different types of data, meaningful data exchange between the control boards and an external network across appliance platforms has yet to be achieved.
Additionally, recent networking technologies present an opportunity for mischievous operation and manipulation of networked appliances by unauthorized users over public networks. For example, dozens of power line carrier communication networks may be established on a common electrical system sharing a single distribution transformer. While “house codes” or “system addresses” may be provided to facilitate different logical networks in the same physical network, such logical networks are vulnerable to malicious hackers.